London, Sep 12 (ANI): British ace Jenson Button, who is leading the Formula One driver championship with a comfortable margin, has been warned of throwing away the drivers' crown after his lead got slashed to 16 points with no win in the last five races.

His old F1 pal and Red Bull chief, Christian Horner, reckons Button could crack just like Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce did in the World Cup semifinal penalty shoot-out with Germany in Italy in 1990.

Horner, preparing for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix, said: "I'd be worried if I was Jenson. Wouldn't you be? Things have not been going right for him lately. He has tightened up."

"Jenson has not been anywhere near the podium since June and he's probably trying to understand why. Until he answers those questions it's difficult to see a recovery," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

"He's scored 11 points since Turkey and before that he was getting 10 points at pretty much every race. That makes a difference to your mental state. It's easier to win from the front than in the demolition zone. That's where he has been," Horner said.

"He needs to find answers. At the moment he is like Stuart Pearce taking a penalty. It's down to mental strength at the end of the day. It's like the top 25 tennis players. They all play the strokes, but it's about who wins the big points. It's the same in any sport."

With five races left Button is 16 points ahead of Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello.

The Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are 19 and 201/2 points back. (ANI)